Project P3/Z
Deciphering lipid droplet heterogeneity using functionalized lipids
Background
Lipid droplets (LDs) are dynamic cellular organelles in eukaryotic cells and act as storage for neutral lipids. Structurally, LDs consist of a hydrophobic core composed of neutral lipids that is surrounded by a phospholipid monolayer and associated proteins. Despite extensive research on the LD proteome over the past decade, our understanding of the LD lipidome in its steady-state, its alterations in response to metabolic cues, and how these changes impact recruitment of proteins to LDs remains limited.
Aims
• develop methods to enrich LD subsets for subsequent molecular characterizations by the members of the RU
• provide lipidomics approaches for characterizing the lipid composition of core and monolayer lipids of LDs
• study how lipids contribute to protein targeting to LDs and LD subsets using functionalized lipids
• develop tools for LD-specific targeting of functionalized lipids
Principle Investigators
